Tag: Reasoning

Devotion II

Published on January 19, 2026

Devotion, discipline, habit: these seem to be choices. Choices that are possible, choices that are difficult, choices that are formative. Time is not on our side. The clock ticks, and everything is in motion. This is not a weekly or daily choice. No, this is an hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second war for order, and assuming control over oneself. If the grace is lacking, then the intellect must make up for it, and in sheer cooperation of the will must seize the moment.

Distractions must be eliminated; total presence and full attention must be given. We must wake up, stop slouching around like a bunch of dead husks. Reason must be trained, numerical wisdom must be sought, meditations must be vividly intense, the Sacraments must be frequent, the devil squashed by the Rosary, and time must be consecrated by the Liturgy of the Hours.

These things must be necessary for our souls. We cannot do this alone, we need help, and prayers.

Deus, gratiam tuam nobis necessariam esse sentimus; adiuva nos ut tibi devotamur et ita perseveremus.

EAR

Distractions.

Published on January 18, 2026

Distractions are like flies: annoying, persistent, burdensome, meddling, pestering, and should not assume priority to anyone, or anything. What is necessary, seems to be an aggressive prioritization of what is essential to the moment, and in the long run. Everything posterior to this must be deemed unnecessary. These distractions seem to actualize during meaningful pursuits of Wisdom. It then behooves the professional student to squash these distractions and not be flexible to concede precious time to these useless, inefficient, instances of urgency, obligation, and need for something, or someone else, at the student’s expense.

Time is not something we can get back, so it must be guarded, and utilized, every second to the absolute fullest. To not do so means we must not be serious in our pursuit of freedom through Wisdom.

EAR

Vocation.

Published on January 17, 2026

What do I want? To study, for the sake of Wisdom, that I may enjoy: freedom, less cognitive overload, peace of mind, confidence, substance, and connections with the Saints, Doctors, and wise men who walked the same path before me. I pray this may be actualized, and I will fight for every minute to bring it into reality. I trust that God will figure out the details. What I know now, is that I am not wise, but a fool, and I wish to change this. I desire with all my soul, mind, power, and heart to change this.

Whatever I do, I take extremely seriously. Whatever I put my mind to, I go in 100%. The problem with me has been, that I have never known, in what direction, or path may lead me to freedom. I now know, and have discovered, that it is in private, consistent, relentless studying of the Classical Liberal Arts. The crucible of the professional certification I attained last year humiliated me; yet opened my eyes to the path that needed to be walked.

So, I am walking it. God will sort out the rest of it. Even if I die tomorrow, I was free.

Liber eram.

EAR.

Arithmetic.

Published on January 16, 2026

Tomorrow, I will begin studying Classical Arithmetic from Nicomachus’ treatise, Introduction to Arithmetic, simultaneously with Aristotle’s Prior Analytics. I don’t know where the idea came from, but I got the very strong sense that it was time to start Quadrivium with the Trivium. We’ll see how it goes, or rather – where it’s going.

EAR

Memento.

Published on January 15, 2026

Memento mori.

This little nosegay of devotion is liberating to repeat when undergoing active humiliation. How liberating it is to say: “Memento mori, my death is coming. It will happen one day, and then after that, Judgement Day. That is what’s going to happen. That is the reality. That is what is on the way.” How true it is, and how much more honest it is to say: “I don’t know, I don’t know what I’m talking about.”, as Socrates so once wisely said: “I know that I know nothing.” Why would I know? Why would you ask me? You know all things, so enjoy your little victory. Your little moment of exaltation. It means nothing. Vanity, ashes, dust, and rotting flesh in the dirt fresh with worms is what it is, it is all that it is. My loss, your victory, we end up both in the ground in the end. It was, is, and always will be a waste of time, and time is all that we have. As Seneca would say: “Lay hold of today’s tasks and you will not depend so much upon tomorrow.” All of this is dust and means nothing. So go on, exalt yourself, sit on your high horse, the day of Judgement is coming. What use is it for me to waste my time in vanity, trying to be a “know it all”? For the sake of what? To prove for a moment, that I’m right? I am not right. I strive for wisdom with gritting teeth, and the pain in which my soul is wrangled and weeps for understanding; and met with silence and more obstacles, and more setbacks, and more headaches, and etc.

Deo gratias, Deo gratias, Deo gratias.

If humility, and recalling our mortality, brings one to the earth in abjection, in contrition for one’s sins, then it must be the very lens by which we are to hope for salvation, while having our faces firmly planted in the mud. The ground underneath our feet that will swallow us up one day.

Contrary to this, Pride seems to blind us, and we seem to forget that the end of our time here is coming, and it’s coming quickly. Question is, will we hear the word: “Depart”, or “Well done” at the end of it all?

Something tells me, that winning arguments and framing oneself as a ‘know-it-all’ is not going to help us then. But then again, what do I know? I am a rational heap of ashes, who wants nothing more than peace.

EAR

M.

Published on January 14, 2026

I think just getting past the switching of naming conventions was a huge breakthrough for me. My confusion on the actual positioning, or rather the assumed signification of M, was a mess from the beginning. My assumption of its inherent alphabetic sequencing, as if it were univocal to the function of A, and then – with that flawed assumption – tracking the conversion of the major premise as if M is now posterior to N because it was originally prior pre-conversion. All these things were distorting my perception of the premises, their relationships, and their implications to the conclusive propositions. Nothing made any sense, and it only got worse during the subsequent reductions of invalid demonstrations.

Towards the end of my intense first line-by-line study on Chapter 5, all my notes were corrupted because of this error; but after getting into another dialectical tennis match with the tutor for clarification, and wrestling past my ignorant equivocation of M as if it were the subject, instead of the predicate, finally my error revealed itself, and then the light began to shine on everything I had previously stumbled through. There was an immense clarity as I re-wrote the notes, and with the proper terms defined for ‘NMO’, viz. M being properly understood as the middle term, I could then properly understand each line from Aristotle in a way that was not apparent before. I was able to ask the tutor more intelligent, and nuanced, questions and give more logical interpretations on sentences that were difficult to understand at first glance.

EAR

Aristotle, Prior Analytics. Book I, Chapter 5.

Privation.

Published on January 13, 2026

The human condition is a mystery. It seems that in varying degrees, across innumerable cultures, of any age, of any generation, there is a lingering gravitas within the rational will that inclines, or rather declines, towards the privation of good. It is most curious indeed, since it is evident, quite obvious even, that the entire potency of the entire collective human spectrum of faculties is, by definition, superior to all other natural things, and in of themselves good. Contingently, assuming this potentiality is in fact actualized by prudence, then it is through reason that the rational animal could bring all of reality into an ordered stewardship, by which other things come to reach their full potential too.

Yet, this is not the case, far from it. All one has to do is look around, and it is self-evident that something is very wrong, everywhere. What could be good, is privatively not. The tragedy of it all is that man seems to be completely helpless in uprooting this cumbersome gravitas that pulls him down to the Earth, towards base things. Likewise, any initiative to improve the situation by human reasoning alone, may start off right, but quickly becomes corrupted and goes off the rails in no time.

Despite this inclination to do what is not good, the act of the will is still completely free. Therefore, all things done that in privation of what is good, is thoroughly, and totally Man’s fault. Whether it is his fault for continuing this slippery slope, or the prior man who set the privation in motion, the fault is shared. Thus, it would seem reasonable to accept that Man is in need of a Savior from this condition of inevitable failure. Indeed, if Man is unable to will himself to the good of what could be, by his meagre power alone, then he is in need of a supernatural grace to get him there.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

EAR

Thanksgiving.

Published on January 12, 2026

Thanksgiving seems to be the acknowledgement that what is, could have not been, and yet it still is, and may remain to be, not because of one’s merits, but perhaps of the graces operating in his life. An act of thanks, like an act of worship or praise, must be univocal to an act of justice, it is warranted because it may not have been, yet is, even when we don’t deserve a single piece of it.

Why is this the case? I wouldn’t be surprised if it is simply for the sake of giving thanks for the good that is in energy now, actualized already, in potency surely, and contingently favorable, all things considered. How often do we really give thanks to God, not just daily, but every moment? I would imagine it’s probably not very often as we may think that it is operating in habit. I think this is because what is, what was, and what seems likely to remain, is all taken for granted.

“This was as it was when I took the reins, and I’m still not satisfied, and desire more than what I now have, so why must I abject myself to the idea that it could all be taken from me?” the irrational mind asks; but, that’s precisely the point: it can be all taken from you, in the blink of an eye. So, to give acknowledgment, gratitude, recognition, and humiliation to the One whom, out of pure maximal charity, providentially gives what is good to all, seems like the only reasonable thing to do for the one to whom it was given to. To whom all was given, all there ever was, was a simple just act of giving a “thank you” in return.

“Alleluja. Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia ejus.” (Psalmus 117:1)

EAR

Devotion.

Published on January 12, 2026

It seems that the rational soul’s active and conscious, renunciation and rebuking of prior thoughts, premises, and memories of a past life once lived, are necessary acts and daily affections: in order for the man to effectively pursue wisdom, peace of mind, ordered reasoning, and any kind of clear dialectic investigation. All of these aforementioned seem to be the prior cause to the devout life, as taught by St. Francis de Sales in his treatise for the laity, “Introduction to the Devout Life”.

If these privations, negations, and contrary dianoetic conceptions of the soul are not actively purged out and fought against, they seem to be like weeds which infect the garden of the soul that is actively attempting to plant, cultivate, and nurture fruitful ideas that bring the soul to perfection.

The nosegay ejaculations of devotion as collected personally during the meditative ascensions in purifying imperfections in the soul seem to be the key to return to the contrition, soulful stirrings, and resolutions as experienced during a full meditation in God’s presence.

To enter into God’s presence through meditation, or at least to become aware of His omnipresence, seems to be the purpose of acts of Faith, Hope and Charity. To remember the negations of the past life lived, and vigilantly defend one’s disposition, and subsequent affections caused by them, must be acts of Reasoning and Logic. Reasoning is needed to purge useless thoughts; whereas Faith, Hope, and Charity are necessary for God’s grace to fill that purged vacuum.

These things seem to work in tandem, and are both needed to bring about the purification, illumination, and – Lord willing – perfection of the hapless rational soul. In moments of emergencies, and crises, these must be opportunities to employ these acts of the soul and intellect, reject false premises void of evidence, and allow God’s grace to penetrate and transform the adopted soul, and prevent self-destruction. I.e. they seem to be invitations to permanently cement these small ascensions up the ladder of divine ascent and imprint these fruits into the soul. This is unbelievably difficult, not only to remember, but to act on in the heat of the moment. Once again, bringing our attention to what Aristotle teaches as being effective in energy, or in the moment, what is necessarily now. If we cling to this, perhaps we can more effectively, and efficiently grow in true devotion, and reasoning. There is a mysterious balance of co-operation, and submission here.

“Vacate, et videte quoniam ego sum Deus; exaltabor in gentibus, et exaltabor is terra.” (Psalmus 45:10)

EAR

Earth.

Published on January 10, 2026

A mystery it is, that we seemingly were generated into time, out of an abyss of nothingness, into a world far more ancient than ourselves, of which has witnessed the generation of substance, and subversion into ashes of countless hylomorphic rational beings, whom in their toil made many things, and left remnants of their presence here, for time and new generations to see, but not care.

“Ecce mensurabiles posuisti dies meos, et substantia mea tamquam nihilum ante te.” (Psalmus 38:6)

We were never needed, this ancient Earth existed, and will continue to exist, prior and posterior to our short time here; and yet, here we are. If we were never needed, how could the purpose of our existence in necessity be anything but an invitation to stewardship: which presupposes wisdom; which presupposes reason: which presupposes active study. Otherwise, whatever our hands touch will destroy, when it is devoid of reason, of wisdom.

“Verumtamen universa vanitas, omnis homo vivens.” (Psalmus 38:6)

I think this is evident by the way this ancient Earth is treated by us, this home of ours, in which we have cast aside our reasoning and seem to exploit in perpetuum, whilst rejecting the very invitatory vocation we were purposefully designed to assume responsibility of. They speak of going to Mars, and for what? As space is a vacuum, so any community devoid of reason, philosophy, wisdom, and theology, would be also of a vacuum, that by natural consequence, could be filled by something unbelievably devastating, privative, and contrary to reason.

The end would be the same though, after running that irrational course, a man would simply return to ashes and make room for the next generative hylomorphic being. Would that one, continue the damage done, or willfully break the cycle, and walk the paths of the ancients? Only time will tell, and time seems to be something that is merely accidental to the Earth we’ve come into.

Quid superbit terra et cinis? (Ecclesiasticus 10:9)

EAR